Knights of the Old Republic Remake Discussion
Did not see much discussion here yet, but I think it would be quite appropriate given that those games are pretty much direct successors of Baldur's Gate.
Any thoughts on the remake?
There is little substantial information yet, though they are rumors that combat will be more like an aRPG like Mass Effect and on the subreddit a lot of people state that they hope for DS or Fallen Order like combat.
It makes me sad that so few people seem to appreciate good party-based not action based RPGs anymore.
I would actually like a good single-player action RPG in the Star Wars universe - one of my dream games was always a hybrid of the original Deus Ex and the old Jedi Knight games. But KOTOR had it's own unique niche to fill, so I personally don't think it is the right place to do this. It feels like a different author rewriting your favorite book.
Finally, and I mentioned this in the Baldur's Gate 3 thread, I really don't get this reuse of old IP.
If you invest so much money (and it seems like a big project), then why not make a new game in the Star Wars universe? Why retell the same story again? Remasters are different since they leave the original writing and gameplay (mostly) intact, but remakes require about the same amount of work as a new game, so why not tell your own story as well?
PS: please put spoiler tags if you talk about you-know-what. The remake will probably get some people to experience the story for the first time.
Any thoughts on the remake?
There is little substantial information yet, though they are rumors that combat will be more like an aRPG like Mass Effect and on the subreddit a lot of people state that they hope for DS or Fallen Order like combat.
It makes me sad that so few people seem to appreciate good party-based not action based RPGs anymore.
I would actually like a good single-player action RPG in the Star Wars universe - one of my dream games was always a hybrid of the original Deus Ex and the old Jedi Knight games. But KOTOR had it's own unique niche to fill, so I personally don't think it is the right place to do this. It feels like a different author rewriting your favorite book.
Finally, and I mentioned this in the Baldur's Gate 3 thread, I really don't get this reuse of old IP.
If you invest so much money (and it seems like a big project), then why not make a new game in the Star Wars universe? Why retell the same story again? Remasters are different since they leave the original writing and gameplay (mostly) intact, but remakes require about the same amount of work as a new game, so why not tell your own story as well?
PS: please put spoiler tags if you talk about you-know-what. The remake will probably get some people to experience the story for the first time.
4
Comments
My guess about the remakes and remasters is this: A remaster of a great game makes sense to keep it compatible with modern machines.
A remake seems a different issue to me, too, but I assume it's much easier to dive into improved graphics, better combat design and whatnot, and to overhaul conversation, than to come up with a completely new, original and gripping story, with all its plot twists, choices, dialogues, romances, ending(s) and all that influenced by the choices you make... very easy to go wrong here, probably, and a big investment doesn't guarantee a narrative that will convince people.
This may or may not help, but I used to have issues with it crashing constantly, then I turned off "grass" in the graphics settings. May or may not work for you.
It doesn't even start properly, crashes in the menu already. But thanks anyway.
Sure, I may not want a full album of covers, but I do like it when I hear a cover of a favorite song of mine at a concert.
On the topic of KOTOR - I kind of feel like they need to do something with the combat. I'm not saying I think it needs to be aRPG per se, but they did use a pretty generic/basic version of D&D 3.0 last time, and I dont necessarily think keeping combat the same would be a great choice in 2021+
I'd be fine if it stayed party-based but with an overhaul on combat mechanics, or if they went in a different direction and tried to make something closer to an aRPG. As long as it's fun to play, it'll work for me.
In a more generic sense, one of the reasons why I like these sorts of remakes/remasters is that it can help catalyze the furtherance of the franchise. I think a KOTOR 1 remake would probably make more money than a KOTOR 3 made so many years after the last one. However, after remaking KOTOR, maybe they'll have the liberty to take the IP and create a unique game with it (Although if it is successful, I'd sort of expect them to remake KOTOR 2 next).
Secondly I have a issue with remakes and remasters in general since it all a symptom of cultural stagnation. For the past 30-50 years the states have listen to thee same Christmas songs, watched the same Christmas movies, same birthday songs, and this has been slowly slipping into video games with the constant remakes and remasters that have been happening lately.
People for which the game absolutely will not run on their systems. There's certain video cards and processors that can't even be troubleshooted for, the game just doesn't like them.
I will agree the "modernizing" part. This age of "BG3" and "Final Fantasy 7 Remake" has me very leery of anything marketed as a remake or sequel anymore.
My only response is too bad for them, I didn't want windows 10 so guess what I dont get to play? PHANTOM DUST... I was pissed but I moved on.
I still don't want windows 10 and guess what bs I had to deal with this time that almost coat me greatly! You know adobe, that garbage company that make the most used artist and designer programs on the planet? Well in their infinite effing wisdom, they choose to make 2021 windows 10 exclusive and 2021 was requires for my InDesign class.
Also, wasn't final fantasy 7 remake ps exclusive because that was something else I wanted to play that I didn't get to play.
Bottom line is we don't always get what we want...I don't want this modernized but it's still happening. I want the 80s and the 90s to stay in the 80s and the 90s but they are still remaking stuff instead of creating new things
While this is 100% true, I don't know if I trust anyone other than the original devs with that story.
For now. The exclusivity period for FF7R ended in May this year, although Square-Enix has yet to announce anything about other platforms. Personally though, I think it's only a matter of time. They'd be foolish to cut themselves off from potential revenue by bringing the game to other platforms.
That way the game is available to more pissed off original fans!
I dont see the harm. Some people will end up not liking the KOTOR remake. If it was never made, they'd be in the same boat in terms of not playing the game, so if it isnt for them, then that's fine. It doesnt overwrite the existence of the originals. As for me: We know virtually nothing about it, so I'm far from sold that it will be a good game, but I'm open to the idea and will wait to see what the developers end up doing with it.
This may be a slightly philisophical question, but can the original people still be the original people if they continue something they began 20-25 years ago? Think about how much time that many years is, and the fact that all of these people spent much of those years apart from each other only to reconnect for more work on the series.
In some cases, no. The 4th Indiana Jones film is a good example of this. But that doesn't mean a new dev would be more suited. KOTOR2 was written in such a specific mindset that I don't see anyone but the original writers having any chance of even coming close.
Seriously, if they keep the companions in the game, and keep it party-based, then they’ll have a sale from me. They can make it whatever kind of RPG they want, as long as it’s party-based.
Now excuse me as I clean up the drool that flowed from my chin when I thought about a Star Wars tRPG.
It's also only a portion the game, and given how long it took to make that section of it, god only knows when part two will come along.
At the rate they're going? 30 years. The first episode is essentially 1/10th of the original game. Its almost like adding tens of hours of filler was a bad idea for pacing. (Seems to be working out well for the publisher's wallets.)
kotor 1 does not like intergrated grahpics cards for some reason. the only way to fix it is to force it into window mode.
Yeah, the first step is going into your NVIDIA settings (assuming you have a dedicated card) and forcing it to use the graphics card. There is also a widescreen patch, and even a patch that scales the UI like the Steam version of KOTOR II does. But it's a pain in the ass to do it all. Even after doing it 3 or 4 times, I usually still get a step wrong.
In a day and age where even a slight modification to the nipple clamps on Andariel in the Diablo 2 remaster causes people to lose their shit, I can't even imagine the cottage industry of rage-filled Youtube videos that will spring up if even a SINGLE line of dialogue in the game is altered in any way.
One of the central themes of the Star Wars universe is that the Dark Side is intrinsically corrupting. While normally purely self-interested but very pragmatic villains are possible, it meshes poorly with force users in the Star Wars universe.
It may not start like this, but Dark Side users are definitely cruel for cruelty's sake to the point of pointless sadism. I think all the over-the-top backstabbing on Korriban and a lot of the Dark Side options are perfectly consistent with that. I think the prequels and the old trilogy do a good job of depicting that - see Anakin's rapid slide once he gives into the dark side the first point and that Yoda and Obi-Wan believe it is virtually impossible for a Dark Side user to come back. One of my criticism of the EU is that this aspect is trivialized and you have redemptions all the time, making the one or two really should that happen less impactful.
I think that's something that is often forgotten in SW discussion - the morality scale looks very different for force users due to that kind of feedback from the Force itself. Again, if you were to play a smuggler or bounty hunter things would be very different, but not for a Jedi.
I also don't agree with the Light side example. Jedi's are guardians of justice among other things - and justice is better carried out by revealing the truth and not having an innocent be executed even if he prefer to be.
Well, yes, it trashes up the black-and-white aspect a fair bit (though to be fair I think the criticism of the Jedi are at least slightly overblown). But no media - not even KOTOR 2 - really makes the Dark Side any less black. So at best it would be some shade of gray vs black, and I'd argue the gray shade is not even really that dark.
FWIW - I havent played KOTOR in a long time, and I absolutely believe that the dialogue/writing in it has probably aged quite poorly. It might have worked for my 16 year old brain, but I suspect it no longer does.